Way Cool Music - Musician Interviews

Teitur

Another watershed moment for WayCoolMusic - interviewing the most famous person from his native country! Teitur Lassen, known simply as Teitur to his fans, hails from the remote Faroe Islands. You might not be very familiar with this place, but after spending time with him, you may find yourself booking a flight. Teitur is the rare combination of natural musician, insightful lyricist, successful businessman, unassuming, and a damn funny guy.

Way Cool:

Ttell us a little bit about your background and how you got started in music.

Teitur:

I’ve just always been playing music since I was small. My father played the organ in church. My mother was a pop singer. I started writing music quite early. Then, I joined a band when I was fourteen or fifteen…and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.

WC:

You mentioned some influences and artists, like Louie Armstrong, that kids in America might know. But, how were you introduced to them?

Teitur:

Where I grew up in the Faroe Islands, a small island close to Iceland, Scotland and Norway, it’s totally random what makes its way there. Most of the time, it is only the blockbuster stuff that reaches us…the usual stuff that gets played on the radio. In my childhood, there was only one record store. But, often in places where there are not many things, you are over interested in certain cultural things. You can always find those people with the interesting record collections. I heard all of the American exports – Run DMC, Bon Jovi, Metallica.

WC:

Tell us about being signed to Universal, way back when.

Teitur:

I got management in England when I was 19 or 20. Then, I started traveling to America, writing and co-writing songs. I just wanted to improve on my writing. My manager found me a publisher in Los Angeles. That was my job then, writing songs for this publisher. It was my dream job at the time. I met Rupert Hine who is based in Los Angeles. He made records as an artist and was a producer…mostly made his own records in the ‘80s. He suggested that we make a record. I looked at my demos as documents, as recordings of my voice and guitar – not as complete songs. I’d stayed away from the record-making process. At that time, I wrote the songs and played them on guitar. That was what Rupert liked about them. He suggested that we go see labels. And, I felt really comfortable with him. I felt there was a common interest in doing something personal and a platform for my career as a recording artist. We signed with Universal in Los Angeles and New York. My recording career started there. I started touring all over, performing my songs. Also, I started becoming more aware of my material, what the best songs were, and went from there.

WC:

Where are things now?

Teitur:

I made three albums that I released internationally. I made a fourth album in Faroese that I hadn’t released internationally. I have a great fan base around the world. I show up and they want to hear me. I have a group of friends who I tour and record with so it’s a really good time. I’ve established myself as an artist and writer.

WC:

The first time we saw you was when you were touring with Matt Nathanson on a college tour. So, we are happy to see the evolution from college cafeterias to more established venues like Schubas. There is far less smoothie making machine noise during this tour. Tell us about the newest album, The Singer.

Teitur:

The Singer is a collection of songs I’ve written over time. We decided to go to Gotland to record it. Gotland is an island in Sweden where my girlfriend, Anna, is from. The premise was to let go of the acoustic guitar and piano. And to let go of the coincidental factor; just playing various instruments on a song hoping it will sound good. It was more about arranging the songs so the story is told best; make choices about what the song is about. I spent 3 months arranging them with my friend who is a modern and classical composer. We found some local musicians and singers who were very good. These musicians could play all sorts of instruments like obo, woodwinds and saxophone. Then we brought in people who I usually play with, like my rhythm section, my bass player, my drummer and guitarist from Denmark. We started out the first week setting down the groundwork. We had all the arrangements written so we recorded it from then on. We recorded at a hotel that was a summer house of a former Swedish princess. It’s really beautiful, and even had a concert hall in it. We brought in gear from Copenhagen with my sound engineer. We transported it to Gotland. There were stone walls and wooden floors that gave it a great big sound. We finished in November 2007.

WC:

When you were first writing these songs, did you hear the instrumentation in your head beyond the acoustic guitar? When did you know these songs were going to be more than just played with an acoustic guitar?

Teitur:

That’s something that’s pretty logical. That’s really what it’s all about…to make it better than how it sounded when it was written. I knew I wanted it to be theatrical, old Victorian style music.

WC:

Have you been able to translate that sound to your live shows?

Teitur:

		Yeah, we have. I knew I needed to have a larger band. We are 6 people in the band. I needed to have singers that could sing very well, and knew I needed girls with high voices for the songs. These singers also play other instruments like trombone, cello, saxophone and keyboards. They can all play multiple instruments. It’s sort of a strange thing, but it sounds really great. And, I play electric guitar.
Photo by: Martin Dam Kristensen

WC:

Have you ever tried to stump them and find an instrument they can’t play?

Teitur:

Not yet, but I should try that.

WC:

We have a few concert related questions for you. For example, how do you feel about the high clap rather than the regular chest level clap? Does it mean more to you than the regular clap?

Teitur:

I just enjoy it when people express themselves, whatever they feel like at that point. Shouts, claps, hopping…whatever their instinct is at that point is good with me.

WC:

Do you appreciate it when people request songs?

Teitur:

Yeah, sure. There’s definitely a good way and bad way to do it. There’s always that drunk guy in back who shouts 20 times. But, basically I love it when the audience is excited.
		Photo by: Martin Dam Kristensen

WC:

Do you still keep in touch with Josephine?

Teitur:

No, not at all. I haven’t seen her since I was 9. I think she knows about the song. It’s a very famous song on the Faroe Islands.

WC:

Where do you keep your Faroe Businessman of the Year award?

Teitur:

(Laughing) I think my dad keeps in the office.

WC:

What about the key to the city?

Teitur:

The key to Quincy, Illinois? That key is in Stockholm somewhere. I should have it with me here (Chicago) in case I get pulled over.

1.	What's the worst job you've ever had?
	Mixing cement

2.	What's your favorite movie quote or song lyric?
	“Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.”

3.	Who would you want to star in the movie of your life?


4.	What's your favorite TV theme song?
	Probably The A-Team.

5.	If you were a superhero, what would your name be?
	'The Mighty Teitur,' of course

6.	What do you want to be when you grow up?
	I don’t know. I’d just be myself.

7.	Finally, why are there so many songs about rainbows?
	Because you can’t get them.

To find out more information about Teitur. visit his website at www.teitur.com.